There's the Super Bowl in football, the World Series in baseball, the Stanley
Cup in Hockey, Wimbledon in tennis, the Kentucky Derby in horse racing, or the
Great American Race (Daytona 500), but there is nothing that quite compares to
that first major in April for the men, The Masters. Although the LPGA Tour had
its first major last week and just four weeks ago the golfers competed at the
WGC-CA Championship at Doral, The Masters is the greatest spectacle in golf.

This may be the most anticipated Masters in history, due to the fact that
world No. 1 Tiger Woods is making his return to golf. Woods will be playing
for the first time since winning the JBWere Masters is Australia in November.
He has taken time off to concentrate on his personal life in the aftermath of
the car accident Thanksgiving weekend that led to revelations of marital
infidelity.

As was the case in 2009, there are plenty of interesting scenarios waiting to
play out this year. Will the best player in the world, Woods, capture his
fifth Masters crown in his return to the game? Can Phil Mickelson win his
third green jacket and fourth major title? Will Ernie Els break into the
Masters winners column after six top-10 finishes? Can Vijay Singh win his
second Masters after finishing in the top-15 seven of the last eight years?
Will Angel Cabrera be the first player to successfully defend his Masters
crown since Woods in 2002? Will Jim Furyk, Geoff Ogilvy or Padraig Harrington
win their first Masters? Or will Sergio Garcia, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson,
Camilo Villegas, Lee Westwood, Steve Stricker or Ian Poulter win their first
major championship? Only time will tell.

Last year, Angel Cabrera parred the second playoff hole to defeat Kenny Perry
and Chad Campbell and win The Masters for his second major title. Campbell was
eliminated on the first playoff hole after a bogey at Augusta National's 18th.
Perry missed his approach left on 10, the second extra hole, and never
recovered. His 20-footer for par slid by the left side and Cabrera had two
putts from 15 feet for the green jacket. Cabrera ran the first just a few
inches past the hole and tapped in for his second major. He won the 2007 U.S.
Open at Oakmont. Perry led by two strokes with two holes to play in
regulation, but bogeyed 17 and 18 to get into the playoff.

Cabrera, from Argentina, became the first South American to win The Masters.
Cabrera's fellow countryman, Roberto DeVicenzo, appeared to have the 1968
Masters title, but he signed for an incorrect scorecard and Bob Goalby got the
green jacket.

Mickelson matched the Masters record with a front-nine 30 last year in the
final round and got himself within one of the lead. He hit into Rae's Creek at
No. 12 en route to a double-bogey, missed easy birdie putts on 15 and 17, then
bogeyed the last to finish with a five-under 67 and take fifth place at
nine-under 279.

In 2008, Trevor Immelman built a lead he could not lose on the back nine in
the final round and won his first major championship. Immelman fired rounds of
68-68-69, sharing the lead after the first round and holding the lead alone
after the second and third rounds. Immelman, who held a five-shot lead with
five to play on the final day, finished with a three-over 75 on Sunday for a
total of eight-under-par 280. It was enough for a three-shot victory over the
four-time winner Woods. Immelman became the second South African to don the
green jacket after his idol, Gary Player, who called him Saturday night to
wish him encouragement. Immelman's final-round 75 matched Arnold Palmer's 75
in 1962 as the highest winning final-round score in Masters history. It was
also the highest final-round score for a major winner since Singh shot a 76 in
the final round of the 2004 PGA Championship.

In 2007, Zach Johnson captured his first major title, winning by two strokes
over Woods, Retief Goosen and Rory Sabbatini. Johnson shot and impressive,
three-under 69 in the final round to finish at one-over-par 289, which
matched the highest winning score in Masters history set by Sam Snead (1954)
and Jack Burke, Jr. (1956). Johnson played in the third-to-last twosome on the
final day, breaking a streak of 16 consecutive Masters champions who came from
the final pairing. Nick Faldo was the last player not to play in the final
group and win, when he played in the next-to-last pairing in 1990.

Johnson became the first Nationwide Tour graduate to win The Masters. His win
was the 11th major championship title by a former Nationwide Tour player and
first since Shaun Micheel captured the 2003 PGA Championship.

In 2006, Mickelson claimed his second Masters title in three years, as he
played steadily while others faltered. When he captured the green jacket in
2004, Mickelson holed an 18-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to top Els by a
single stroke. In 2006, he was able to enjoy the experience better as he
walked up the 18th fairway with a three-shot cushion. Mickelson posted his
first round in he 60s all week with a three-under, final-round 69. He finished
at seven-under-par 281 and won by two strokes over Tim Clark. The win was
Mickelson's second consecutive major championship, as he also walked off with
the 2005 PGA Championship.

In winning the Masters in 2006, Mickelson was 13-under par on the par-five
holes. Raymond Floyd is the only past champion to have performed better when
he won in 1976, as he was 14-under par. Mickelson became only the fifth player
to win the tournament before The Masters and then go on to win at Augusta.
Those players to have accomplished this feat are: Sandy Lyle (1988), Art Wall
(1959), Snead (1949) and Ralph Guldahl (1939).

In 2005, Woods birdied the first hole of a playoff to defeat Chris DiMarco and
win The Masters for the fourth time in his career. It was the first major
championship for Woods since the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage. On the par-three
16th hole during the final round, Woods missed the green and pitched his
second above the hole and waited as his ball rolled down the slope, stayed on
the edge of the cup for a second, and dropped for a birdie and one of the most
memorable shots in Masters history. Woods joined Jack Nicklaus (six) and
Arnold Palmer (four) as the only players with four or more Masters titles.
Forty-five of Woods' 58 rounds at Augusta National have been at par or better
and 42 of 52 as a professional. In his four wins at the Masters, Woods is a
combined 58-under par and has won by a total of 17 strokes.

In 2004, Mickelson shed the title of "Best Player Never to Win a Major" when
he birdied the final hole to defeat Els by one shot. With the win, Mickelson
broke an 0-46 drought in golf's four major tournaments. With his birdie at the
last, Mickelson became just the fourth player in tournament history to birdie
the 72nd hole for the championship. He joined Palmer (1960), Lyle (1988) and
Mark O'Meara (1998) in that illustrious category. In 2003, Mike Weir became
the first left-hander and first Canadian to capture the coveted green jacket,
as he defeated Len Mattiace in a playoff.

In 2002, Woods joined Nicklaus and Faldo as the only back-to-back victors of
The Masters. Nicklaus turned the trick in 1965-66 and Faldo accomplished the
feat in 1989-90. Woods set a new Masters mark that year with 10 consecutive
rounds under par, breaking the previous record of nine set by Palmer and
Floyd. That streak ended in 2003 when he opened with a four-over 76.

International players have fared well at The Masters, winning 12 of 22 and 14
of the last 27. No player has ever won The Masters after winning the par-three
tournament held on Wednesday. In 2009, Tim Clark captured the par-three event
and finished tied for 13th in The Masters. A total of 111 players have been
invited to this year's event, with a total of 96 expected to compete. There
are 18 first-time participants and six amateurs in this year's field.

Qualifications for entrance into the Masters are: past Masters champions; U.S.
Open, British Open and PGA Championship winners (Honorary, non-competing after
five years); winners of the last three PLAYERS Championships; current U.S.
Amateur champion and runner-up; current British Amateur, U.S. Amateur Public
Links and U.S. Mid-Amateur champions; the top-16 finishers -- including ties
-- from last year's Masters; top-eight players -- including ties -- from last
year's U.S. Open; top-four players -- including ties -- from last year's PGA
Championship and British Open; the top-30 PGA Tour money leaders from 2009;
Winners of PGA Tour events that award a full FedExCup point allocation from
previous Masters to current Masters; those qualifying for the 2009 TOUR
Championship; 50 leaders on the Final Official World Golf Ranking for 2009,
and the 50 leaders on the Official World Golf Ranking published during the
week prior to the 2010 Masters Tournament. The committee can also invite any
international player not otherwise qualified.

Player and Fred Couples share the record for most consecutive cuts made at 23.
Couples missed the cut for the first time in 2008. Player made his 52nd and
final career start last year at the Masters, the most all-time.

There were no holes-in-one in 2009. Ian Poulter aced the 16th hole in 2008
with a eight-iron from 170 yards. There were no aces in 2006 and 2007.
Immelman aced the 16th hole in 2005 with a seven-iron from 177 yards. In the
history of The Masters, there have been 19 holes-in-one. In 2004, Harrington
and Kirk Triplett made back-to-back aces on the 16th hole.

There have only been four wire-to-wire winners of The Masters: Craig Wood
(1941), Palmer (1960), Nicklaus (1972) and Floyd (1976). Nicklaus holds the
record for most eagles in The Masters with 24. Four players have won The
Masters for their only top-10 finish in Augusta: George Archer, Lyle, Ian
Woosnam and Johnson. There have been only three players who have won in their
first appearance at The Masters: Fuzzy Zoeller (1979), Gene Sarazen (1935) and
Horton Smith (1934). Only two players in the history of The Masters have
birdied the final two holes for the win: Palmer (1960) and O'Meara (1998). The
Masters is the only PGA Tour major played on the same course each year.

Former Masters champion Jose Maria Olazabal and Michael Sim have withdrawn
from the championship. Olazabal withdrew due to aches and pains due to
rheumatism and Sim pulled out due to a right shoulder injury.

The PGA Tour moves to Hilton Head Island, South Carolina next week for the
Verizon Heritage, where Brian Gay captured the title last year.